• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 9, 2013

A woman who has recently been researching a family vacation is most receptive to ads for cruises when she is shopping online for, well, anything else.
 
That (arguably intuitive) finding is one of the first from Aisle A -- the media solutions and audience-targeting division launched by comparison-shopping site Shopzilla in February.
 
The hypothetical woman “is in an active buying mind-set when she is buying [for example] clothes online for her kids, and therefore more receptive to an ad for a family cruise,” according to Craig Teich, vice president and General Manager of Aisle A.
 
“Similarly, an avid moviegoer is more receptive to a trailer for the next action film when he is shopping for a new TV,” Tech said.
 
After surveying over 4,500 online shoppers, Aisle A found that 85% agreed with this statement: “When shopping online, I’m receptive to online ads for products or services that I am currently considering buying.”
 
A more modest 62% of respondents agreed with this statement: “When shopping online, I’m receptive to additional products or services that are relevant to me (even if I’m not currently considering buying them) and targeted to my interests and buying preferences.”
 
Broken down demographically, 69% of Generation Y (which Aisle A defines as consumers under 30) respondents agree with the last statement, while 53% of seniors (or consumers over 65) agreed.
 
Aisle A also found that the type of site and activity (gaming, reading, shopping) significantly impacts ad receptivity, as survey respondents said they are most likely to be receptive to ads on shopping sites (57%); followed by email sites (47%); information/news/blogs (25%); social-media sites (22%); video sites (4%); and gaming sites (3%).

“With credit cards in hand, the path to purchase during online shopping is a lean forward environment where people are more open to ads for products targeted to them,” Tech said. “A shopping environment presents valuable opportunities for advertisers in all categories because they’re reaching active buyers.”
 
“This study also highlights that retailers or publishers at the bottom of the sales funnel are sitting on valuable, engaged audiences for advertisers,” Tech added.
 
Aisle A’s survey was conducted via the Bizrate Insights survey platform and offered to online buyers immediately after purchasing from Bizrate’s network of retailers in the U.S. and Canada.